Marko: We hope to fight for the win in Monza

Monza was the venue where Red Bull Racing registered their worst result in the 2024 Formula 1 season, where Max Verstappen finished sixth while then-teammate Sergio Perez was eighth.

But Verstappen said after Friday's running that he was reasonably happy with the RB21, which he claimed was much better than the RB21 around Monza, despite complaining over the radio during the sessions about the lack of grip as well as the nervousness of his car.

The Dutchman also added that he was happy with the long runs, pointing out that the qualifying pace needs to be improved.

Marko echoed Verstappen's sentiments and claimed there was an "incredible increase compared to last year" referring to the car's performance, and went on to predict: "We hope to fight with some others for the win."

However, the Austrian added a condition that "McLaren doesn't show up with something extra tomorrow [Saturday]" as the Woking team had a slow start with Lando Norris struggling with understeer in FP1 but then jumped to the top in FP2 while Ferrari chased hard.

Lewis Hamilton topped FP1, while Charles Leclerc was less than a tenth off Norris in FP2, but Marko suggested Ferrari were showboating, saying: "We are in Monza, so Ferrari on Friday is always very good."

Marko put Red Bull's improved pace at Monza on Friday down to a different approach to car setup based on lessons learned in 2024 saying: "We have a different philosophy now.

"We only need more traction on the soft tyre," he added, "but that I think we can achieve without changing the wing position."

However, Marko hailed the "very impressive" race pace Verstappen showed during practice, adding that the team was "very, very satisfied," especially with how the tyres were degrading on the RB21.

(Quotes from Motorsport.com)